Compared to the Shadow Keep, Shadow of the Erdtree’s Ruins of Rauh can actually feel like a walk in the park. That’s kinda literal, too. It’s all greenery and waterfalls. And oh, look at that, there’s even some pretty butterflies floating around that just so happen to be in the same room as a 20-foot tall woman/scorpion/centipede hybrid who wants to put both her stingers through your precious torso.
And yet, still, Romina’s a gentle breeze compared to what’s come before, and what’s coming after. Let’s go tiptoe through the tulips and kill this bug dead.
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Romina’s Abilities, Explained
Basically, it feels like FromSoft said “yo we heard you like impalers”, and then promptly put an impaler after an impaler in this new expansion.
Romina is going to spend most of this fight trying to stab you with her scorpion tail, stab you with her centipede tail, and then will try to stab you with her giant spear. All three attacks are big swings, but her spear is far more nimble and deadly than the other two, leading into two-to-four hit combos, where at most, she’ll swing her two business ends at you for two to three hits. She can also tip the spear in magic that does extra damage and builds up Scarlet Rot on every hit, whether you guard it or not. If she enchants her whole spear, she’ll try a magic combo then immediately go into a normal four-hit string right after. That combo hurts. She will also roll herself into a big ball of bug and will either take a giant leap into the air to try and crush you or she’ll roll around the arena like the giant scorpions in the Rauh Temple, ending in a slam and a big sweep with her spear.
At 50-percent health, she’ll summon a vortex of pink butterflies around her immediate space that might actually be pretty if they weren’t inflicting Scarlet Rot on you. She’ll also float in the air and summon a field of them around the entire arena from time to time that explode in midair. And then, sometimes, all these things come together as Romina floats in the air and sweeps across the arena three times with her spear, leaving the butterflies in her wake on the third strike.
Strategies for defeating Romina
Romina isn’t necessarily a hard boss in terms of dodging and defending against her attacks, but she’s got such an odd hitbox that you might end up putting yourself in harm’s way more often than not. In addition, a fair bunch of her combo-enders are a parting sweep as she tries to backstep away from you. So, really, this is a careful fight more than a difficult one.
In terms of points in your favor, as usual, Spirit Ashes remain your best friend, and she’s actually pretty chill at the outset about staying back while you summon and take a hit off a flask. She’s also weak to fire and freezing, so any spells or enchantments that go ham with those, bring ‘em.
Lastly, weapons with decent range can definitely mitigate the hitbox problem, though thrusting weapons tend to miss the mark, and slower weapons can get you in trouble when the butterflies come out halfway through. Rellana’s Twin Blades can chop her into mincemeat if you catch her in the right moment. The moon projectiles can be useful if you’re keeping your distance, but the Flame-based special attack leaves you too vulnerable for too long.
Read More: How To Defeat Rellana, Twin Moon Knight In Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree
Beyond that, this battle is just a matter of getting a good read on her attacks. Magic users will have an easier time, especially if your Spirit Ash is doing a good enough job keeping her attention. Her tail attacks still pose a danger, but the stingers have a relatively easy tell, and the three-hit sweep she does with them is an easy dodge as long as you’re out of range for the first two hits.
That said, it’s far too easy to get caught out there when she takes to the air. And for folks who don’t have a lot of points poured into Strength, the slam and the roll can be a one-hit kill if you’re not careful. For melee folks, you just want to get close to her and stay there. Dodge forward through her tail attacks, punish each of her combo enders with another hit, and go to town if she gets distracted by your Spirit Ash. Guard counters and parries can be tricky, because her placement is so weird. If you’re right up in her face, you’ll occasionally run into combos that miss you entirely, and the temptation to back up into the next hit means getting stuck in a new combo. If you’re successful, though, Romina can be stance-broken fairly easily, too.Just remember that her hitbox is a weird one. Roll around her to get to her riposte point if you’re not immediately in front of it.
Things do get trickier at the 50-percent mark, because the Scarlet Rot problem is at its worst when you’re next to her. When she rises into the air, magic users can put a serious amount of hurt on her at range; you just want to go back on defense when the tempest is over and she summons butterflies around the whole field. It’s a risk, though, and honestly, those are scant seconds that might be better spent healing up. With the butterflies in the field at large, there are empty spots around the field where no butterflies spawn, but they’re tricky to find and, again, don’t be in the middle of casting something else when it happens. The damage the butterflies do when they explode isn’t too bad, but, again, the Rot will get you. Romina will do this move again soon after, but even faster. So, get used to hunting for the dead spots and if you’ve got Preserving Boluses, have ‘em ready.
Past that, the other new danger is her big flying sweep combo when her entire spear is enchanted. When you see the spear light up, time your dodges, but dodge horizontally to the left for the best chance of avoiding damage. For the third hit, dodge twice so you can hopefully avoid the trail of butterflies in her wake.
Rewards for killing Romina
This next section includes some gentle spoilers. But know that progressing too far to the Sealing Tree at this point can lock you out of several NPC quests, so consider this as a point-of-no-return.
Your bug extermination fee when she’s dead comes out to 380,000 Runes and Remembrance of the Saint of the Bud. Turning in the Remembrance with the Fingers can get you the Poleblade of the Bud, a dangerous little halberd with Romina’s butterfly sweep as a special, or the Rotten Butterflies incantation, which sadly isn’t nearly as impressive as Romina’s, despite a very pretty animation.
The area immediately after takes you to the cliff where you can burn the Sealing Tree. But before you do, know that burning the Sealing Tree will effectively lock you out of most of the major NPC quests, so, maybe handle those quests first. Also, you’ll need to get the Kindling by beating Messmer to burn the tree anyway. If you haven’t done that already, good luck!
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